Helping Your Child with Speaking and Listening

Why are Speaking and Listening so Important?

Speaking and listening are at the heart of childrens learning. Children need to be confident communicators and active listeners in order to learn about the world they live in. Language skills are crucial, and children begin to develop these skills from birth. At school children are taught to: hink about what they say Choose the right words Listen to others before they speak alk to others Share ideas !Listening and Speaking are the roots of reading and writing "#fsted $%%&)

Parents Role
'arents and carers play a crucial role in developing childrens communication skills. (rom the moment of birth parents are a childs first teachers and provide a powerful e)ample of good communication. *esearch shows that even very tiny babies understand the rules of conversation and can !take turns in communicating with an adult, by copying facial e)pressions for e)ample. Conversation with parents has been found to be one of the most important factors influencing childrens achievement.

De eloping !alk
(rom the very earliest stages parents are teaching their children to communicate + through playing, chatting, singing, commenting and ,uestioning parents are modelling speaking all the time. -ere are some ways to develop your childs speaking skills: Make time to talk to your child Encourage your child to talk Listen patiently Actively encourage longer conversations. Asking questions Be a good role model

" #ood Speaker$

.uses good vocabulary .speaks in a clear voice
.makes a longer contribution

is clear about what they mean

than /ust one or two words

.makes eye contact with the listener

..uses facial e)pression and gestures

Children love to make up their own versions of stories. Sing along to the radio and C1s together.

2ncourage your child to finish the lines of poems and rhymes.

!hings to !alk "%out and Listen to $

&)avourite )ood. &the school day.

BOOKS, SO !S A " #$%MES

each your children nursery rhymes, sing songs and share books with them every single day. Children can learn an enormous number of new and e)citing words from sharing and talking about a book. 0ursery rhymes and songs teach children about sound patterns and how to have fun with words.
Children love to hear familiar stories over and over again.

&)riends. ..a (ourney or trip . &something in a comic or ne'spaper.

&special events.

De eloping Listening
Speaking and listening go hand in hand. Listening skills are important for all sorts of reasons. -ere are some ways to develop your childs listening skills:
Story tapes, songs and rhymes in the car and elsewhere Childrens radio Ask them to follow clear simple instructions 3ive them the opportunity to make choices 4 !5ould you like to wear a blue /umper or a red one today6 ake turns in conversations with them and encourage them to listen to your contribution. 'lay language games 4 like !7+Spy, !$% ,uestions, !5hat am 76, !Continue the story 4 you start a story, the children carry on. 2n/oy telling /okes and encourage the re+telling of them. 2ncourage the use of the telephone 4 within reason8 ake time to answer your childs ,uestions 4 model being a good listener8

" #ood Listener$

.makes eye contact with the speaker .listens carefully .responds appropriately to the speaker. .asks relevant ,uestions .turns the body to face the person who is speaking .turns off distracting noises such as the radio or television

is clear about